And what they found on Cantor’s popularity rings true: only 30% approved, and 63% disapproved. Republicans gave a 43% approval to Cantor and a 49% disapproval. Cantor lost Tuesday night by a 56% to 44% margin to Brat.

This is how the immigration question was framed to 488 voters by PPP:

There is bipartisan immigration reform legislation being debated in Washington. The bill would secure our borders, block employers from hiring undocumented immigrants, and make sure that undocumented immigrants already in the U.S. with no criminal record register for legal status. If a long list of requirements is met over more than a decade, it provides eligibility for a path to citizenship. Would you support or oppose this proposal?

That’s undoubtedly a favorable interpretation of the immigration reform bill that’s cleared the Senate. Nowhere is the word “amnesty,” which became a hot-button issue in the campaign. In any event, that characterization drew support on a 72% to 23% margin.

By a 64% to 32% margin, those polled supported immigration reform when it was characterized in this manner:

Do you support or oppose an immigration reform plan that ensures undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. pay a penalty, learn English, pass a criminal background check, pay taxes, and wait a minimum of 13 years before they can be eligible for citizenship?

As White House aides pointed out last night, Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican, quite easily fended off a tea-party challenge — and he co-sponsored the immigration-reform bill in the Senate. So it’s not right to just say that opposition to immigration reform automatically dooms Republicans.

Opposition to immigration, however, helped coalesce the anti-Cantor forces in a low-turnout election.

It also probably didn’t help that the Virginia Republican spent most of his campaign re-election money to advance his leadership ambitions. The notable element of spending money on steakhouses is that these were restaurants were located in Washington, D.C., not Richmond. Cantor also devoted a hefty portion of his spending to flying — when the trip from D.C. to Richmond is under a two-hour drive. That indicates Cantor was flying around the country supporting other Republican candidates, in his now-doomed bid to eventually become Speaker of the House.